1. Filed of the Invention
The invention relates generally to flashlights, and more particularly to a light on an articulating collapsible extendable arm that has a housing with a base of sufficient ballast that the light can be extended and directed in substantially any direction, and remain in that position.
2. Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2,648,762 to M. S. Dunkelburger teaches a Combined Housing and Flexible Flashlight Support, wherein the light and reflector are supported on one end by a flexible conduit and on the other end by the battery casing.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,692,394 to A. Sundh teaches a similar flashlight, where the flexible conduit appears to be wound on a spool. The flexible conduit is an extendible, flexible, adjustable neck. U.S. Pat. No. 1,692,394 patent teaches a larger battery in a case.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,426 to Farrington, et al. teached a light with a flexible support and reduced storage length. The invention is similar to the Black & Decker® snake light. A variation of the snake light is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,550.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,550 to Visciano teaches a Flexible Flashlight, which has a flexible conduit neck.
Noel E. Zeller, of Zelco Industries, has two patents U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,556, a Radiant-energy tool with Flexible Extension; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,483, a Flashlight with Flexible Extension. These patents also have the additional feature that they have a butane flame for igniting a fire.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,162 to Richards, et al., teaches a battery operated luminaire with emergency switching means. The light is on a flexible neck and there is big battery, but the neck is not supporting.
The prior art has a number of examples of flexible conduit for flashlights and lamps, however a limitation with flexible conduit is that it cannot extend very far, particularly in the horizontal direction, before it bends under its own weight. Furthermore, flexible conduit does not readily collapse into a compact space, as its capability of being adjusted in many directions also makes it difficult to fold neatly. What is needed is a light that can be extended by a user to positions beyond that of traditional flashlights having flexible conduit. The invented flashlight would eliminate the need for a second person to “hold the light” while the user's hands are free to perform a task. The light needs to be adjustable, at least comparable to the flexible conduit lamps of the prior art, but additionally it must have an improved extending mechanisms that can support more weight and therefore extend further.